FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The day after he first met Gojirama Kiryu, Gen stepped off the bus into the Yokohama docks readying himself for a day at the circuit. He had time before his rounds would start, taking a casual stroll towards the warehouse where Zillatopoulos was usually working.

Every day he had come here the docks were never quiet, truckers loading and unloading with giant cranes shadowing over the land to stack enormous containers. The labyrinth of steel changed every week, as a small childish part of Gen could only imagine the sort of fun he would have had exploring as a child.

"Wonder if those three pirates ever come here," the bird pondered, "this place would kinda rule, like a jungle gym that changes all the time. Heh...shit, that's the kinda thing Mei-chan would say."

The warehouse for Letchi Island was easy to tell from its old faded banner, the crab claw forming a mountain between palm trees as monsters kept moving crates back and forth. Trucks would come and go with thickening smog, the sky somewhat muddy with silver clouds as Gen saw Ebisu Raito.

The red lobster in his striped jacket looked more surly than usual, his spiny back tensing up as he sat hunched over on his crate. A letter dangled from his four small arms, his huge single claw tapping his long piercing forehead.

"Hey Raito-san."

"Ehh? Oh." He turned to Gen with his beady eyes. "You here fer the circuit?"

"Yeah, is Clover-san around?"

"She's getting the new guy set up, heh...you're gonna have a bad time down there."

"Why, they that good?"

"They did some tricks with a bottle that made my fuckin' head spin, I wouldn't fuck with a guy like that."

"Oh great," Gen snickered, "they're hiring street magicians now or what?"

"Laugh all you want," the lobster grinned with yellow mandibles, "you'll find out soon enough."

"Hey how come I never see you down there?"

"Cuz that ain't where I wanna be, my bizness is up here." He stared down at the letter in his hands. "You 'member that big bastard you relayed a message to a couple months back?"

"Yeah?" Ganbe reeled back slightly.

"Well...don't wanna worry my workers but, if you're hanging around waitin' fer Clover, an' I'm not here, come over to dock twenty-one."

"Why, you expecting trouble?"

"Yeah." Ebisu scratched his shell. "You don't got any strings attached round here, it's not backup you understand, just...call it a scouting."

"Alright, sure." Gen shrugged. "Are they like a gang you used to-"

"Anyways, how 'bout you go find Junior, make sure he's not getting into trouble."

"Why you want ME to check on him?"

"Cuz he's off today but didn't go back home, went off somewhere over by dock seven."

"I'm not a fucking babysitter."

"Naw, babysitters get paid, now-HEY!"

The crab lunged off his seat towards an elephant who dropped a crate.

"FUCK I TELL YOU ABOUT HANDLING THEM HUH?!"

"S-sorry, sorry boss!" the pachyderm whimpered two feet taller than him.

"If any shit breaks in there, that's comin' outta yer pay! You need to stop rushin' around all the fuckin' time!"

"I-i want, finish job, fast!"

"Girls don't like it when you finish quick an' NEITHER DO I!" Ebisu swung his massive claw. "I'll tell you when I wannit fucking quick, now GIT!"

The elephant picked up the crate and checked his steps carefully to make a laboured pace with his precious cargo. Gen decided to check out Dock 7 just to see if Junior was around, hoping at least the monster could take him down to the circuit.

"I could just go myself, I know the combination and everything but...ehhh, Saureno-san said I should stick with a handler, don't wanna piss him off. No, don't think about it, you got a week, Kiryu's gonna help, that's all you gotta think."

Arriving at Dock 7, Gen spotted a familiar-looking iguana of thick but slender build, his baseball bat slung through his overalls as he peeked out behind a crate. A large warehouse had the banner of four volcanoes on its front and sides, the words "KUNASHIR SHIPPING" spread across the peaks.

"Hey, Junior-san, wassu-"

"//UH, sh-shit!//" The monster turned back with a shocked grin. "Heyyyy...Ganbe!"

"What you doing, spying on the enemy?"

"N-nah! No spy, I no spy!"

"Relax dude I don't give a shit," Gen smiled punching his arm, "I was waiting on Clover-san to take me to Eight Wonders, you wanna come?"

"Mmmm...uhh, busy, yeah busy!" Zilla grinned shaking his head. "Got work to do!"

"Uhhh, Raito-san said you weren't working today?"

"UHH! N-no, I...I-i uh..."

His eyes betrayed him as a voice called out from the workers of Kunashir Shipping, showing a mixture of white kappas, bald-headed eagles and purple-red sea turtles with cloven hooves. But one creature stood out amongst them, a tall brown komodo dragon who was surrounded by her fellow workers, all of whom were stomping their feet and clapping to the beat.

With her fishing overalls and a harpoon in her hands, she cut a fearsome figure whilst balancing on one foot in a ballet spin, before she backflipped and stomped the blunt-end of her spear to twirl faster in the air. Landing on her back, she breakdanced with her legs straightening above until she was spinning on her head, before she stabbed the harpoon in the ground to poleaxe herself upright.

A raucuous cheer came from the workers as she took her bow, twirling her spear to sheathe against her back through the straps of her overalls. Gen gasped with astonishmen, but then he saw Junior with a dreamy sigh and hands on his blunt chin.

"Ohhhhh," the bird grinned, "is that the girl you were dancing with at the arcade?"

"Yeaaaah," the monster simpered, "she...she so cool."

"What kinda move is that anyway, who the fuck has their own spear?"

"She...Alaskan." Zillatopoulos leaned back on the crate. "Thought, Hokkaido but, she speak English!"

"Soooo why you not talking to her?" Gen looked back to her brofisting her friends.

"I-i...feel weird," Junior rubbed his hands, "don't...wanna look bad, she cool, I, I-i-"

"Oh you afraid of looking like a dork? You, the guy who does sweet tricks on his bat and wrecked my ass in the circuit?"

"AW, naw, that just fighting, not talking!"

"You said she speaks English, if you're worried about fucking up your words that's not gonna be a problem."

"But!" The iguana gripped Ganbe's arms. "What if, I say bad thing? Want be nice to her, she badass!"

"Well you gotta talk to her sometime," the bird pulled back, "it's either now or later, and you don't know how long she'll be here, or if she's even single."

"Uhhh...I-i no know."

"Hey, Junior." Gen gripped his shoulders. "Where's that sweet-talking baseball star that kicked my ass huh? Why's he not out here charming her up?"

"I-i no know! Stomach, hot, head, empty!"

"Okay, look, how about I go talk to her?"

"What, NO!"

"No no I'm just gonna introduce you, give you time to prep and see how it goes."

"GANBE, NO!"

Zilla tried to grab him but the bird was too fast, jumping out of range and heading over towards the komodo who sat down on a chair stretching her feet. The iguana gripped his head in a panic, watching from the crates as Ganbe waved to her.

"Hey there, uhhh, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" She turned with a flickering tongue. "Do I know you?"

"Nah, I'm from one of the other warehouses, I uh...this is kinda dumb, but my friend, you might remember a guy who was dancing with you at the arcade, tall, scaly guy with a flat chin?"

"Ahhh huh."

"He really wants to talk to you but he's super nervous about, well, talking, cuz he thinks he's gonna come off like a total dweeb, so I thought 'hey I'll come over and feel the water out' you know?"

"So, wait." The komodo turned to Gen fully. "Instead of encouraging your friend to be brave enough to come talk to me, you do it instead to pressure him to come talk to me?"

"Mmmmyeaaah?" the bird grinned.

"Wow...you're a shitty friend."

"What, fuck you I'm trying to help!"

"Where is he?" She stood up flexing her arms. "Let's hear his words instead of a second-hand messenger."

"He's over there, HEY, JUNIOR!"

Zilla peeked out of the crates with a deer-in-headlights stare, paralysed to the spot when her eyes met his. He shuffled out of cover, stepping over gingerly as Gen stood back.

"//Uhhh, yo!//" Junior waved in English. "//S-sorry, did my friend say something wrong?//"

"//No,//" she shook her head, "//he shouldn't have said anything at all, trying to force you to talk to me, that's not what a friend does.//"

"//Hey, I didn't put him up to it, he did it on his own!//"

"//I can tell,//" the komodo crossed her arms, "//you shouldn't be afraid to talk to me, I'm not your boss.//"

"//N-nah just...ugh,//" he palmed his face, "//s-sorry, I dunno why I'm so nervous I just think you're so cool like, damn those moves you had at the arcade, an' I saw you with that harpoon that was SICK!//"

"//Heheh, thanks.//" She pointed to his bat. "//You got your own I see.//"

"//Aw this?//" Junior pulled it out. "//Yeah, it's nuthin' much, not like that spear, they give you that at work?//"

"//No.//"

The Alaskan brought out hers which was twice the length of his bat. Carved along the shaft were intricate patterns resembling the valleys, the rivers, and the polar ice caps across an ancient isle locked in the frigid sea.

"//Daaaaaamn,//" Junior whistled, "//yo that's sick as HELL.//"

"//My great-grandmother's,//" she twirled it above her head to plant it on the ground, "//passed down through the Delitraux family.//"

"//That is SO, COOL, damn why you gotta be thuh most badass creet on this dock?!//"

"//Hahaha, badass? That's cute.//" Delitraux leaned in to tickle his chin. "//You're cute too, your dance moves were pretty fine.//"

"//A-aww, thanks!//" Zilla rubbed his head with bashful grin. "//M-maybe you could gimme sum pointers, when yer not busy, ah mean I thought I wuz good but you smoked my ass.//"

"//Well, don't sell yourself short, nobody else was as fun to dance with as you. What's your name?//"

"//Niko! Niko Zillatopoulos Jr., but most folks just call me Junior.//"

"//Heh, Komai Delitraux,//" she shook his hand, "//is that your father's bat?//"

"//Oh nah,//" Zilla leaned on it like a cane, "//I just had this since when I wuz a baby.//"

"//A baby?// They taught you to bat that young?//"

"//Nawww, I wuz abandoned in a locker room at Madison Square.//"

"//What?//" Her face slumped. "//That...that's terrible, I'm so sorry.//"

"//Aw it's cool, thuh team let me keep thuh bat I wuz clinging to, dad found me at one o' thuh games, took me home an', here I am! So it's kinda special to me, like a...I dunno-//"

"//I understand.//" She put the spear on her shoulders. "//It's a part of you. Is it also your weapon?//"

"//Sure is,//" Junior swung it up high and caught it mid-spin, "//I could show ya sometime.//"

"//You could. Are you free today, perhaps Chinatown arcade in an hour?//"

"//Y-yeah?! For real?!//"

"//For real.//" Komai patted his cheek. "Qagaasakuq."

"//Wh-...whut?//"

"//That's Unangan for 'goodbye'...it also means goodnight, if you're lucky.//"

She gave him a wink that set his face aflush, Delitraux heading back to the Kunashir warehouse with harpoon in her straps. Zillatopoulos clutched his fists with a bouncing glee as he swaggered back through the dock.

"How'd it go?" Gen asked beside him.

"GREAT!" Junior squeaked. "She meet me, tonight, DANCING!"

"Aww fuck yeah, nice one dude!" They high-foured. "But uhh, you oughta thank me for that too."

"What?! No, you dumbass, you push me!"

"Oh fuck off, I talked to her, she wouldn't have known you existed if it wasn't for me!"

"But she right, friends no do that."

"Woooow, Junior," Ganbe threw his arms, "it's been five minutes and already you're getting cucked."

"Wha-...what you say?!" Junior snarled. "Don't talk bad of her, I kick your ass!"

"Whatever, you gonna bring me to Eight Wonders or not?"

"Nope, got a date, bye bitch!"

"HEY, fucking asshole!"

He slapped Ganbe's back and hiked off back, the bird following with a fist in the air as he shouted half-joking after the monster who jeered at him. But they were both smiling regardless, Gen still taking the credit mentally as they returned to Letchi Island. But Raito was nowhere to be seen.

"Where boss?" Junior asked.

"I dunno," Gen shrugged, "he was here a few minutes ago-OH, yeah! He's over at uhhh, dock twenty-one?"

"What?" Zilla squinted. "Why?"

"No idea, do you really need to talk to him?"

"Uhhh...I worry now. Dock twenty-one...far away from work."

"You wanna go check it out?"

"Yeah."

The monster nodded as they walked the length of the dockyards through crowds and moving cargo, skirting around forklifts and ducking under cranes. Dock 21 was a lonesome pier, an oddly-abandoned sector despite not being dilapidated.

Facing towards the sea stood Ebisu Raito, his long fanning tail reaching behind his puffed jacket at the end of the pier. Beside him was a creature in a red coat three feet taller than him, as Gen and Junior crept close behind some crates.

"I told you before," said Ebisu, "I ain't coming back."

"You accept this mundanity?" the monolith snarled. "Trying to play the face of a capitalist shill?"

"I make a decent earning an' I keep creatures in work, 'specially those who ain't kaiju who got no place else to be."

"And they respect you?"

"They get better pay from me than anyone else."

"How tragic." The crimson fiend shook his head. "You were one of our greatest spies, now you take our island's name for your personal profit."

"I'm makin' amends," Ebisu thrust his claw, "things change, maybe once upon a time our ideals were justified but now? I'm tired, I don't wanna go back, an' I'm sick of you bastards tryna chase me down."

"Our goal was to found a new nation free from the vices of Japan or America, what has changed in your purpose?"

"I found a better way to help folks, with my bizness." Raito turned to leave. "Don't ever come back. I ain't gonna report you, rest assured I'll take our secrets to the grave."

"I know you will." The hood patted him. "But the Red Bamboo cannot accept those too weak to stand for its cause."

"Is it weak to move on? To accept the things we done, the lives we took an' the creatures we forced into our own li'l army? I come to realise, too late some might say, that you should start putting more good back in the world, then taking bodies out of it."

"Our goal far outweights the casualties we must suffer-"

"No. It doesn't." Raito slapped away his hand. "I'm red enough from the blood we spilt, Bakemitsu."

"Not yet." The creature smiled wide. "You will be, if you refuse."

"What the fuck's going on?" whispered Gen from the crates. "Your boss some kinda gangster?"

"Shit," Zilla gasped, "this bad, what Raito-san do?!"

"I dunno, but that hooded guy's making threats...wait."

Dust scattered from the roof above their heads. Both of them looked up and saw a thin metal length jutting out with one wing gripping the barrel. Junior knew immediately what it was as he ran out of cover, and hurled his bat like a ball-and-chain.

A shot fired across the pier with a deafening crack, Raito grabbing the red hood by instinct and pulling him in front as a living shield. But unbeknownst to either of them, the sniper had their rifle snap upwards when the bat cracked against, causing them to shoot at the sky and stumble back with surprise.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" screeched Ebisu. "You, you FUCKING COWARD!"

"BOSS!" Zilla grabbed the bat as it fell down. "YOU OKAY?!"

"D-DAMMIT JUNIOR WHY THE FUCK YOU HERE?!"

"You told me to!" Gen called. "What's going on?!"

"How pitiful." The red hood smiled. "Your lackeys have come to save you, unaware of your past."

With a powerful shrug, the fiend swept off his cloak and tore free from Raito's grasp, showing a ghostly white whale dressed in rags with lines resembling black bones tattooed on his skin. From above the shooter revealed himself, a giant condor with bronze winged hands and a stone-grey beak, holding the rifle in his clutches.

"Oowashima," gasped Raito, "you came here too?"

"Nothing personal," said the assassin, "we can't afford loose ends for our revival."

"There ain't gonna BE no revival after I'm done with you bastards!"

"Holy shit," Ganbe stepped back, "the fuck's even happening?!"

"If you survive this," the whale cracked his giant knuckles, "perhaps your boss may tell you all, but now you have seen too much."

"HEY!" the lobster turned to him. "Leave these two outta it, they got no bizness here!"

"You know one of the rules of the Red Bamboo is to hide all knowledge...through the thickest of reeds."

"Issat so? Well then here's another rule." Ebisu stepped back towards Zillatopoulos. "There ain't no workers, only comrades."

"B-boss?" Zilla looked to him.

"Junior, get outta here. You stay around, they'll kill you."

"I not scared." The monster twirled his bat. "Nobody hurt my boss."

"Well I don't know what all this shit is," Gen strolled up in turn, "but you all sound like terrorists."

"Terrorists?" Bakemitsu snarled with wide baleen teeth. "A peasant's word for the vigilante, those who pursue freedom from governments when we take command of our islands as an autonomous nation!"

"That whut you call enslaving the other isles?!" Raito thrust his claw. "Bad enough our country did that in Korea, but whut we did on Infant Island's exactly why I ain't coming back!"

"Our crusade is not comparable to Kankoran. But if you so desire to let your soul wither in blissful ignorance, then I and Oowashima shall gladly send you off."

"Fuck that!" Gen pulled out his sickles. "Raito-san, can we kick these guys' asses?!"

"You sure can." The lobster swung his arm. "BOYS, help this ol' crabclaw out wouldya?"

"Yes boss!" Zilla pumped his fist. "YOU GOING DOWN, FUCKHEAD!"

"SHOOT THEM!"

Flapping above the roofs, the condor cocked his rifle in mid-flight taking aim towards Zillatopoulos. Gen charged for the skull-tattooed whale who unveiled a ruthless pair of steel knuckles, his giant hands swinging at Ebisu who blocked with his claw then punched Bakemitsu's stomach with his smaller hands. One of the fists came for his sharp head, as Raito dodged with a sweeping jab to briefly knock the whale back.

But the terrorist smiled and wrapped his entire hand round the lobster's throat, lifting him up with a soul-crushing grip that cracked against his shell with a strangling force as Raito kicked and flapped his long tail. The giant mammal saw a sickle come flying for his eye, and backed off trying to use his hostage as a shield.

Gen swung his scythe close to one side, then immediately swerved round the other way whilst snapping the blade back to miss the crustacean. He ran behind the whale and slashed his side, causing the thug to drop the lobster who immediately crunched Bakemitsu with a massive overhead swing.

"Y-you...filthy TRAITOR!"

"HEADS UP KID!"

The lobster pulled Gen down to evade the whirling lariat, a violent pair of fists that swung in a circle before the cetacean raised his fists high to slam down on the pier as both bird and lobster jumped. Ganbe wrapped his sickle-chain round the thug's arm, but his enormous strength yanked the bird off his feet and spun Ganbe above his head like a wrecking ball.

The bird's body knocked into Raito as the whale twirled his body, colliding with the lobster who rolled off the pier and into the water before Bakemitsu threw Ganbe down with a crunching smash. He tried to stomp on the bird's head, but Gen rolled fast with the chain of his sickles still wrapped tight round Bakemitsu's arm.

The giant whale yanked him back into his other fist, crunching hard into Gen's stomach with a gasping wheeze before another punch came for his head. Ganbe dodged in a duck-and-spin, unravelling his side of the sickle-chain before Bakemitsu tugged him back in a waltz of imprisonment.

In the midst of their battle, the water surged from behind with a roaring leap of crimson fury. Ebisu launched from the sea with the mighty hammer of his claw crushing the back of Bakemitsu's skull, the whale stumbling forwards as he pulled Ganbe's chain to make the bird come flying over his body.

Raito grabbed Gen in his claw, clamping firm but careful like trying to hold an egg before his other four arms pulled at the chain to wrench Bakemitsu back on his feet. The white whale yanked Gen back as the bird screamed from being lifted high, whirling above to be made a weapon once again.

The lobster grabbed the arm with his massive claw, crunching shut on the bicep and shutting it down with smaller arms driving elbows into the whale's gut to knock the wind from his lungs. Gen latched onto the terrorist's head and quickly disentangled his chain, calling out a warning for Raito to step back before he shanked the sickle hard into the whale's jaw.

" GA-AAAAAARGH!"

"HEY LOOK, I HOOKED A BIG FUCKER!"

" OOWASHIMAAAA, SHOOT HIM!"

But during all this Oowashima was taking down Zillatopoulos, the feisty iguana blocking his shots with his bat. Junior kept him distracted with dancing taunts, hotfooting across the pier as the giant condor flapped even higher, gliding on the current to take aim with wings outstretched. Whilst he had the mobility to take aim from in the sky, it always took too long for him to line up the shot, giving Junior enough time to either dodge the zipping bullets, or do his own sniping with trash he found nearby.

"//YOU THINK I'M SCARED OF A GUN MOTHERFUCKER?!//"

"STAND STILL YOU FUCKING PUNK!"

"//I'M FROM NEW YORK BITCH, YOU AIN'T GOT SHIT ON ME!//"

Hocking old cans and detritus from the water, Junior struck for a home run each time causing the condor to swerve and miss his shots. Eventually one mighty shot clipped the terrorist's wing and caused him to fumble, almost falling to the sea before he recovered in a swooping glide and charged towards the American.

With his rifle he swung it like a club, the monster blocking hard with a clash between bat and gun until the condor flew up high once again. Hoping to get a shot from close-range, the sniper Oowashima turned and fired without even looking as the monster cartwheeled fast out of shit. Spinning on his hands with long tail whipping behind, Junior uprighted himself and grabbed another piece of trash from the water.

When the condor heard Bakemitsu's cry for help, he turned and fired towards Gen who stood atop the whale's head. Junior didn't stop to think, gripping his bat like a javelin to suddenly hurl it towards the shooter and crack him on the beak. The handle ripped through his jaw with a howling screech as he swung his rifle mid-fire to try and correct himself, the bullet ricocheting into the dock hitting no one.

"F-FUCK, FUCK, FUUUCK!"

The giant bird fell into the sea, Zillatopoulos diving in to trap the shooter in the waves. His body slithered through the water like a hot knife through butter, diving under to grab his bat as the condor flapped with soggy wings. Struggling to keep aflaot, he splashed and fumbled looking around for the monster with a growing panic before something grabbed his neck. Dragged with the force of a speedboat back towards the dock, Oowashima was tossed by Junior back onto dry land before jumping from the sea like a dolphin.

"//DON'T FUCK WITH NEW YORK!//"

With bat raised high he crunched down on Oowashima's face, shattering his beak with a gasping shriek and throwing away the rifle to beat him down. Without his partner, Bakemitsu was struggling against the hooked sickle in his thick jaw, pulling the looser skin as he roared and staggered on the dock trying to throw the bird off him.

During this Ebisu pummelled the whale's stomach with all his fists in a rapid-fire shot, blackening bruises forming over the black-bone tattoos of the terrorist's white belly. The thug managed to throw Raito back with a hard shove, before grabbing the sickle from his jaw and ripping it out to yank hurl Gen forwards to the ground.

"KID!" Raito cried. "STAND OVER THERE!"

"Yeah okay!"

Watching the crustacean run to one side of the whale, Gen stood opposite and readied his sickles. Switching them to their flat side, he held them together as Ebisu dove into the water, Bakemitsu clutching his face now spilling blood from his baleens as stared at the bird with blistering rage. Then came the surging splash, the lobster shooting up high as Gen jumped with him in turn.

"CRISIIIIS SCISSOR!"

With a roar Raito slashed his giant claw across the terrorist's face, Ganbe slashing at the same time with his sickles to form a brutal X over the whale's face. The bludgeoning scar ripped through his flesh and made his cheeks almost burst with crimson flood, his roar of anguish filling the sky as he collapsed onto the dock.

"Y-you...you...T-TRAITOR!" Bakemitsu clutched his face. "GODS, DAMN YOU!"

"Call me what you want," said Raito cricking his neck, "but I'm not one of you fucks anymore."

He walked over to the gun Oowashima had, pulling open the chamber with a hefty cock.

"Not even the dampening bullets the cops use huh?" Raito brought out a sharp piercing bullet. "You were all really planning to kill me."

"A necessary precaution," said the condor under ZIlla.

"And now you gonna be rotting in jail, where you fuckers belong."

"What makes you think you won't join us?" said Bakemitsu. "You were just as complicit in our crusades."

"I washed my claws of the past. I didn't cling to it, and I'm making amends so legally-speaking you won't find nuthin' of me left from Letchi Island."

"You named your company after it!"

"That's just a name." The lobster shrugged. "My company ain't based there, that's like saying I'm from America because I own a restaurant called 'New York Slice', dipshit."

Pulling out a phone, Ebisu called up the port authority who would soon arrive to take the terrorists away. Several kaiju in austere blue uniforms more resembling the navy than police, would drag the condor and the whale into custody.

"You okay kid?" Raito patted Junior.

"Yeah," he nodded, "you okay boss?"

"Sure am. Thanks fer the help."

"No problem," Gen gave a thumbs up, "sooo who the fuck were they?"

"An old gang I used to run with," the lobster looked back, "that's all you need to know."

"Gang? More like a buncha terrorists-"

"An old GANG I used to run with, don't ask any further. The point is I'm not with them anymore."

"Why?" Junior scratched his cheek. "Why you...with them before?"

"The worst thing you can do in your young years is think that only your opinion matters, and no one else is valid. Those kinda creatures turn out to be vashers, or terrorists, or what-have-you...spiralling downwards into their own insanity thinking everybody else is wrong."

"And you used to be like that?" Gen sneered.

"Used to. Now I try to make lives better for other creatures."

"You run a shipping company."

"Not everything I do's on the books," said Raito waving his claw, "thanks again fer savin' my ass, now how 'bout a couple beers?"

"OH, BOSS!" Zilla clapped his hands. "I got a date!"

"Whut?!" the lobster smirked. "Awhaww that's great, who's the lucky gal?"

"Alaskan, from Kunashir Shipping!"

"Wait, that company from Hokkaido? Hah, yeah they're pretty chill, why dontcha tell me all about it over some beer?"

The lobster wrapped his claw round Junior's shoulders as they all headed back, walking back across the dockyards before they sat up and drank beer together. Zillatopoulos would go on about Delitraux, struggling between his Japanese and his own burgeoning excitement and once it was near time for his date, he would depart as Gen and Raito were left to themselves. They said nothing, finishing their beers until Clover would arrive.

"Heyyyy," the gangly white monster waved, "sorry for the wait, new guy took a bit."

"No problem you-...woah." Raito and Gen reeled back at her dozens of bruises. "The fuck happened to you?!"

"The new guy," Lisa rubbed her blackened jaw, "never had anyone kick my ass so quick."

"Damn you look like a banana going sour, holy shit!"

"I hope they're ready for me," Gen punched his fists, "I been ready for an hour."

"I know, I know," Clover waved her hands, "I've been busy back and forth between the new guy and my job and it hurts every time I breathe."

"Speakin' of," Raito lifted his claw, "you get that shipment done from HonSun?"

"Tom's got the details, I handed him that in case I couldn't make it."

"Welp," Ebisu raised his beer, "you kids can piss off an' leave an old lobster to drink."

"Sure," Ganbe took a bottle for himself, "see ya round, Raito-san."

The boss waved to them as Gen followed Lisa, the pale monster with her bulging sacs and angler head cutting a fearsome figure through the dock even in her pink t-shirt and slacks. Arriving at the old Cooper-Jackson warehouse, she tapped in the password on the lift which shuddered down to the depths.

"So," Gen asked, "what's this new guy like?"

"That'd be telling," she grinned leaning on the rail, "can't give anyone an advantage."

"How good are they?"

"Good enough to beat me with a soda can, a milk bottle and a bucket."

"Oh come on you can't give me one thing? Like they use weapons or not?"

"Oh they got weapons." Lisa's smile grew. "Let's just say they'll give you a run for your money."

"Weapons huh?" Gen rubbed his beak. "So what they just got bottles and cans on them all the time?"

"No, they got their own weapon. But they bet that they could beat me without it and...I took the bait."

She swept her hand down her bruised body.

"You'll know them when you see them."

"Can I get to fight them then?" Gen bounced on his feet. "Cuz you're really hyping me up!"

"I'll see what I can do." Lisa winked her fishy eye. "Just don't underestimate them, not even for a minute."

The lift landed at the bottom, the long dark hall with flickering lamps still giving Gen the cold fear. He kept close to Lisa, her ghostly form almost soothing as she drifted between the lights with long slender arms swinging to her knees until they heard the sounds of combat. The grand doors opened to reveal their sacred place, that blessed sanctum of blood and sweat as the Eight Wonders surged with adrenaline.

The chanting of the crowd filled Gen with a spiritual strength, pumping the blood with excitement as he watched a white unicorn slug it out against a sea serpent. His long body wrapped round the horse trying to pin her, but she came back with savage fists crunching his jaw to snap back his head, and pull herself free from his clutches.

"You mind if we talk to King-san first?" asked Lisa. "I need to go over some details."

"Yeah sure," Gen nodded, "what team are you on by the way?"

"I'm neither," she walked past the seats, "I'm the gatekeeper."

"Why'd you get picked for that?"

"Cuz I'm the leader of Ameritown. I found out about the circuit and we made a deal, they help me with securing assets and I bring them new fighters."

"Sounds pretty cool." Gen squeezed through the aisles. "Thanks for letting me stay on, despite, you know, being Jinuchu."

"Oh don't worry," she chuckled looking back, "if you ever betrayed us to your boss, we'd fucking kill you."

"I thought you guys don't kill."

"Not inside the arena. But there's a reason some of us are down here."

Gen tried to hide his panic, as they approached Team Kong's headquarters through one passage that opened up to the fighters' dorms. Monsters, beasts and kaiju were all flexing their muscles, playing board games or just watching TV waiting for their turn. They found the old gorilla hunched over his desk in a Western-style office, scribbling away with his trophies and belts all behind him.

Gen always forgot how huge he was, how his large pecs rippled beneath his green polo shirt. His presence dominated the room like an unlit bomb, massive biceps towering over with mountainous shoulders even when he was seated.

"//Ahh, Lisa,//" he looked up with a grin, "//new guy's all squared away.//"

"//Nice,//" she gave a thumbs up, "//he on your team then?//"

"//Yeah yeah, I'm surprised he didn't join up sooner considering his local reputation, also the good weapons he makes.//"

"//I commished him a couple times, he's fulla surprises.//"

"Anyways," Konnor straightened up in his seat, "sorry for the brief English, we were just discussing the new member."

"I knoooow," Gen waved his hands, "no advantages, how you doing King-san?"

"Great, thank you." He offered his huge hairy hand to shake. "You've been settling well, Saureno-san even looks happy."

"I'm glad to be here sir, it's the best thing I've ever done, everybody's so cool round here!"

"Glad to hear," Lisa rubbed his shoulder, "you wanted to fight the new guy, well we can arrange that."

"Yeah?" the ape leaned back puffing his chest. "You hungry to break them in huh?"

"Well yeah if they could beat the shit outta Clover-san," Gen thumbed to her, "I gotta see what this guy can do!"

"Alright...but remember. You asked for it."

Kingston pulled out two documents from his desk, scribbling out a few words before passing one to Lisa and one to Ganbe.

"Hand this to Goro-kun," said the gorilla, "you'll get your big fight."

"Aww thanks!" Gen pocketed it. "I didn't think you'd let fighters choose."

"Well...this is an exception. Don't disappoint."

"Hey what was this place like before you got here?"

"Terrible," said Konnor rubbing his head, "you normally ask this many questions?"

"S-sorry, I'm just really hyped King-san, I been waiting to get back in the ring."

"Hm...you remind me of Junior, speaking of he's not here with you?"

"He's off on a date!" the bird chirped rocking on his heels. "I dunno if he's coming back tonight but-"

"A date?" The old gorilla smiled. "Well isn't that cute, who's he with?"

"This lady from uh...Alaska, over at Kunashir Shipping?"

"Well...I hope I get to see her sometime."

The look on Konnor's face was strangely placid, a sigh escaping his lips as he locked his fingers and looked up to the ceiling. He then looked back towards Gen and Lisa, shooing them off as he returned to his work.

"I'll be watching your fight later on," the ape said as they left, "try not to embarrass Goro-kun."

"Heh, you got it King-san."

Heading out the office, Gen and Lisa went their separate ways as the bird walked over to Team Saurus' barracks. With the other team pumping iron, resting up or playing games, the vibe in the room was electric with anticipation, including one or two actuallty electric kaiju who pumped up their volts.

"HEYY, Ganbe-OH SHIT!"

The large-bodied Orga came swinging through between the beds, knocking over one bunk that in turn knocked another over like dominoes, causing a toad and an owl to come rolling out.

"SORRY, SORRY, hey there!"

"Heeey," Gen waved to her, "wassup, you been kicking ass?"

"Mmmm pretty good yeah!" she slapped her enormous mitts. "I knocked out two guys this week, getting better at my swings!"

"Yeah the beds can tell you that from here."

"Ehehhh, yeaaaaah," She rubbed her small scaly head, "been up to anything?"

"Ahh, surviving," the bird shrugged, "trying to keep trouble down."

"Yanno, I never asked what you really do as a yakuza, do you like collect money, or you just go round beating up dudes?"

"Both, my boss usually tells me what to do, I used to work in his fucking pachinko parlour, gods what a hell that was."

"Really?" Orga thunked down on her bed causing it to shudder. "Sounds kinda easy compared to fighting and extorting."

"Ugh, it's totally not," Gen slumped beside her, "I was stuck in that place for three years, it killed my soul real bad just in and out, peddling balls for fake-ass tokens that dipshits won."

"So what, you had a bad boss orrrr-"

"Everything! I had to let kids come in and gamble away their money, cuz what we did was technically not gambling, it's fucking garbage! My boss choked me with his suffocating cigarettes, smells like damn poison every day, he'd slap me around and make me clean up HIS mess for the fun of it, and I don't even get lunch breaks!"

"Wow, what an asshole."

"Yeah..." Gen fidgeted with his hands, "some nights I'd hear the balls clinking around in my head and I can't go to sleep. Even now whenever I hear a pachinko ball on the TV I kinda get a little crazy."

"Shit...that's rough." She patted him surprisingly gentle. "I didn't realise you had to deal with such shit, though it's not exactly right to go out beating folks and taking money."

"Listen, I don't beat up innocent folks, just thugs like me yanno? If it's some sad sack who owes money I just give 'em a li'l frighten, I don't beat up nobody who can't defend themselves."

"Even if your boss tells you to?"

"Well...I tried to." Ganbe stared deep at the floor. "Used to be I said that, anyone who can't fight back isn't worth wasting my talents on, you know, in that cocky-shit kinda way. Now it's more just like...there's enough assholes in the world without adding me to it."

"Mmm." Orga nodded rubbing him. "That's a good thought. S'why we're all down here duking it out, rather than up there."

"Yeah." Gen stood up stretching his arms. "I gotta check in with Saureno-san, catch ya later."

"No prob, take care!"

She reserved her backslap this time, letting Gen walk up to the office past the beds where a more traditional Japanese office could be found with tatami matting, old fishing flags, and a low table wirth cushions at the centre. Saureno's age was somehow more apparent than Kingston, his scales cracked with silver as his small pupils squinted up at Gen's arrival, the belts and trophies glimmering behind him almost a mirror to his rival's.

"Ahhh, welcome back," he spread his arms from his dark blue robe, "ready to kick some ass?"

"Yeah uhh, King-san gave me this."

The bird handed over the sheet with Konnor's writing, Saureno glancing over it with a chuckle.

"The fuck's that old monkeybitch up to now? Alright, well, message received, I guess you'll be wanting to step up against the new guy?"

"Yeah," Gen nodded sitting down, "I heard Clover-san got her ass ripped in half by this dude so I HAVE to know-"

"Well, long as you win I don't give a shit, the guy you're facing made a bet actually when I got introduced. Said if he lost even once during the entry rounds, he'd buy me a bottle of anything I wanted."

"HAH, wow!" Gen shook his head. "What a cocky fucker, he really think he gonna step up to Team Saurus?!"

"Yep." Goro smiled clasping his hands. "We talked about our favourite drinks, he said his grandfather was something of a conoisseur so, we ended up talking an hour. That's when the bet came up, he said 'if I lose even once in the entry fights, I'll buy you any drink you want', so I said 'alright, grab me a bottle of Mondo Beach'."

"Mondo Beach?" the bird cocked his head. "Never heard of it."

"It's an Australian wine, pretty grotty but, I haven't had it in ages. Used to drink it in my youth all the time, reminds me of...of good old times."

A smile crossed his lips with a wistful gleam.

"Fighting on the beach with the old gang...heh...fuckin' spiders thought they could match up to me."

"You were a real hothead huh?" Gen grinned.

"Ohohh yeah, island boy, always ready to rile shit up. Whenever I drink Mondo Beach, I think back to those fights on the sand, the hot winds blowing, the smell of testosterone and the sweat on my hands. My father hated it, my grandfather taught me everything, it's kinda what I liked about the new guy, we both learned everything from our grandpas."

"Awww...heh, I know a friend like that too who was raised by his grandpa."

"Hm...well, anyways, I'd appreciate it if you win, for this old kaiju's sake. And if not, I'll have YOU buy the wine instead."

"Aw shit, now I really gotta step it up." The bird bowed to him. "I'll kick this guy's ass for you Saureno-san, you can count on me!"

"Hah, that's what I like to hear!" The saurian leaned over to pat his shoulder. "Alright, ya need anything else?"

"Not unless you want me to do anything before my next match, like I dunno, change the water cooler or something?"

"Heheh, nah. Yer a good kid Ganbe."

"Yeah?" Gen blushed rubbing his neck. "I don't feel good most days."

"Just how some days be. I know you like being here a lot, but you can't have too much of a good thing, or else you burn out just as bad as you would any other."

"You make it sound like a job."

"To some of us it is." Saureno stood up walking over to his dresser. "Rest up all you can, I want you at two-hundred-percent for this fight."

"You got it sir!" Gen saluted taking his leave. "Also that's a hella nice dresser, I always wondered where you got it."

"Why, you like antiques?" Goro put the paper sheet away. "I just saw it at the pawn shop an' it looked nice."

"Huh...always forget you can buy stuff there, I wouldn't mind uhhh, something like that for my place."

"Heh, only if ya don't lose this match, I'm getting my wine either way."

The bird stepped out the office and sat back on his bed, taking a moment's rest to recharge himself with some water and a few snacks. Eventually he dozed off, the sounds of muffled fights and the whooping of his comrades oddly soothing him to a peaceful slumber, until he was roused by a sour voice.

"Ganbe."

"Nnnrhhh? OH, Luzek-san!"

The crystal beard of the gem-stoned reptilian hung over him like a cavern roof, his white pale skin covered in shards with long claws and a jagged mane as Ganbe rolled out of bed. He heard the voice of the announcer, roaring with proclamation for the newcomer making their way through the entrance rounds.

"Is it...shit, is it my turn?!"

"No." Krystalf shook his head. "Not yet."

"But, the new guy's fighting now, right?"

"Yes. Right now, I need a partner."

"Wait, for what, like a tag-team?"

"No. Do you play chess?"

"...what?"

"Hm." Luzek grinned. "Follow me."

In a dark corner of the barracks, half-lit by the lamps and the TV, were small tables with traditional board games such as shoji, mahjong and chess. The beast sat down with Gen opposite, the kaiju more confused than scared of the scowling lizard.

"Have you played chess, or shogi?"

"Mmmm nope," Gen shrugged apologetic.

"Then I teach you now." Luzek set the pieces up. "I need opponent to test my wits."

"So why pick me and not...someone good?"

"Newcomers unpredictable, make good challenge. First, this is the pawn."

He pulled up a small white piece.

"They only go forward, anything diagonal, they capture. This is the rook, they move forward, back, or sides but never diagonal, as far as they want."

"Uhhh, kay?"

"Now, this is the bishop."

So the lesson would continue amidst the sounds of violence, a moment of peace within the storm as Krystalf taught Gen all the basic rules of chess. The bird started with his pawn, Luzek responding in turn as he made an opening to lead out a bishop and start attacking first. Gen left himself wide open, going instead with his attack using a rook to strike through the lines before the other bishop captured him.

It was a short round predictably, thanks to Gen not keeping an eye on his king that was soon captured in a prison of his own troops. The second round went easier, Ganbe coming out more aggressively using his knights that had lion heads with serpent tails.

"Better," Luzek nodded, "knights are odd to play."

"I just think their heads are neat," Gen shrugged.

"They used to be horses." the beast brought out his rook. "An Italian king wanted chess knights to have horse heads, for his sons who were knights."

"Whaaaat? That's sounds pretty fucky, that's what you call one of them uhhh nappytishums."

"Nappy...ah, haha, nepotism," Krystalf smiled, "correct, they were changed back to chimera mounts two centuries after."

"Cool." Gen brought forth a bishop. "What's a bishop by the way?"

"A high priest in Icthyanity."

"You one of those?"

"My family were, Orthodox," Luzek countered with a knight.

"So why'd you come all the way to Japan?" Ganbe blocked him with a pawn.

"A conference. Advancements in Atomic Energy, I met Kuribayante."

"Ohhh, you mean like, Genshiro Kuribayante? I saw him on TV, he's got like an institute here."

"Yes, R.O.S.E.," Krystalf looked up at him. "I not meet Genshiro, I met his child, Ukyo, worked alongside them."

"Oh neat!" Gen sat up with a grin. "Friend of mine thought organic science meant like plants and shit, and I told him-"

"Yes, actually."

"Wait...wait you DO talk to plants up there?!"

"What?" The beast snarled. "No, we not talk to plants, we study them with radioactives."

"Hah, I knew it!" Gen slapped his knee. "Mei-chan was wrong!"

"Yes." Luzek dragged his queen over the board. "Checkmate."

"Huh?! Awww PISS, I forgot about the queen!"

"Hmhmhm, better than before, you lasted longer, make me change tactics, that is good."

Resetting the board, Luzek gave Gen some brief pointers, helping the bird shape up his game as they played once again.

"I'm surprised you even wanna play with me," Ganbe started with a rook, "wasn't sure if you liked me."

"I didn't, before," Luzek brought out his knight, "but I heard from Kiyo-san. She tell me the things you've done, my message you gave her and the good you do."

"Well...yanno I just...it's nothing."

"I did not trust you because you are Jinuchu. But you are different. Thank you again, for sending message."

"No prob," Ganbe snatched Luzek's knight with a pawn, "can I ask what the deal is with Kiyo-san, is it like some underground shit?"

"No," Krystalf stole a pawn with a bishop, "the less you know, the better."

"Yeah that's fair." Gen pushed out his queen. "Is that why you're here, cuz you got caught out?"

"No...not yet."

"What about your brother?"

The beast suddenly reached over and gripped Ganbe's shoulder, a pointed stare from the white lizard seething through his brain.

"Do not speak...of my brother."

"I-i-i didn't mean, s-sorry I just thought, Orga-san said-"

"Ugh. Orga." He pulled back in his seat. "Mouth too big for her tiny head."

"Sorry, you're right, it's not my business." Gen put up his hands. "I'm sorry about what happened to him-"

"What do you know of him?"

"That he...died? You told me that when we first met."

"Ah...sorry." Krystalf sighed rubbing his head. "It has been difficult."

"I feel ya," the bird rubbed his beak, "I almost lost my brother, pretty recently, thought he's not like a FAMILY brother, he's more like a clan-brother, you know."

"What happened?"

"He...h-he almost drowned."

Gen suddenly became quiet with a small shiver. Krystalf reached over to pat his arm with a softening in his eyes.

"I am sorry. Is he alright?"

"Yeah, y-yeah he's fine now...thanks. He means a lot to me, he's...the only real friend I have who can put up with me."

"I understand."

"GEN GANBE!?"

"UH, HERE!" Gen stood up fast. "Is it my turn?!"

"YEAH!" a serpent with an eagle's body beckoned him. "IT'S TIME, LET'S SEE WHAT YOU GOT!"

"Hoo, alright!" He shook Krystalf's hand. "Sorry I got a bit heavy."

"Thank you for playing." The beast smiled. "Your brother...remind him every day, how much you love him."

"...I will."

The bird smiled back before heading into the arena, pumping himself up with a rush as Sally Glastner led him through. The announcer of the ring wore her smart suit over her feathered-snake body, claws dusting over her front with wings out the back as they heard the pounding chants of the audience.

"Alright," she began, "we did a little something special for your entrance."

"My entrance?" Gen gasped.

"Well yeah, the new guy got up to third round, remember how Junior came out for you? Now it's your turn."

"Awhaww FUCK yeah! I never had my own entrance theme, this is awesome!"

"Hmhmhm!" she patted his back. "Alright, just let me do my thing and when I call out your name...it's time."

Puffing himself up as he waited in the corridor, Gen started to shuffle and pull out his sickles for a few practice swings. Dodging and weaving from invisible threats, the punk swished his blades in a figure-of-eight before snatching one back beneath his arm like a nunchuk.

"This is it," he sighed, "this is your big moment, gonna fucking wreck this fool, think they're hot shit taking down Clover-san? They got nothing on me."

Swinging the other blade out in a sweeping cut, he slashed the wall and scraped past the stone, tearing a flyer of Team Saurus with their owner on front. He pulled back with fright seeing the gouging cut across Saureno's neck, frantically tearing the flyer down.

"It's fine, it's fine!" he gasped clutching his face. "Don't, d-don't think about it, Kiryu's gonna fix that, he's gonna fuck Gihei up, and I'll be off free, just gotta wait!"

"CREATUUUUURES AAAAND PATROOOONS!" cried Sally Glastner. "IT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL ROUND FOR OUR NEW ROOKIE! HE'S ALREADY PROVEN HIMSELF AS THE KING OF CRAFTING, THE FORGE MASTER HIMSELF THAT YOU ALL KNOW AND LOVE FROM YOUR PRECIOUS BLADES!"

"Wait, forge master?!"

"BUT CAN HE FIGHT AGAINST THE BLADES HE MADE?! IT'S TIME TO FIND OUT WITH OUR RESIDENT SICKLE, THE TERROR OF ISSINCHO, THE ONE-EYED REAPER HIMSELF! GIVE IT UP, FOR GEEEEEEN, GANBEEEEEE!"

Stepping out into the light, the bird swaggered out onto the stage, remembering the mantra that he was entertainer first and a fighter second. The roar of the crowd brought out a surge of energy in him, his scythes catching the light as fireworks sparked either side of him.

He high-foured the crowd between switching his blades, spinning round in mid-walk as he skilfully sauntered down the ramp towards the octagon arena. The lights blinded his face as the audience roared with deafening splendour, the shadow of his opponent standing before him.

"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIIIIGHT, WHAT IS UUUUUP?!" cried out Gen. "EVERYONE DOING GOOD?! YOU ALL READY TO WATCH ME TEAR IT UP?! HOPE YOU BETTING ON ME, CUZ IF YA DON'T, MY SICKLE HERE'S GONNA SLASH YER FUNDS!"

"G-gen...GEN-CHAN?!"

"YEAH YOU KNOW IT THAT'S WHAT THEY CALL ME, GEN-wait...what?"

"GEN, GEEEEN IT'S ME!"

"...what, the fuck."

Once the light was gone from his eyes and the fireworks dispelled, he saw Meiji Garonba at the centre of the ring in his blue hoodie. The beetle's eyes shone with excitement, his hands flapping with a giddy bounce as Gen clutched his head.

"MUH, MAH, MEI-CHAN?!"

"HOLY SHIT, YOU'RE GONNA FIGHT ME?!" cried Garonba. "AWHAWW YEAH THIS IS AWESOME!"

"What the FUCK?!"

Charging up to the arena, Gen almost grabbed his friend but remembered where he was and stopped short a few feet. The audience kept screaming loud enough to drown their words as the bird frantically gestured with crazy hands.

"Wha, how, how'd you, WHAT?!"

"I fought Clover-san!" said Meiji. "I kicked her ass pretty good, and I didn't even use a weapon!"

"You, BUH, NO! NO NO NO NO YOU CAN'T BE HERE!"

"What, why not?!"

"CUZ...C-CUZ IT'S MY PLACE, NOT YOURS!"

"Dude, what?!" The beetle scoffed leaning back. "It's not a clubhouse, anyone can get in if they're good enough."

"THAT'S WHAT A CLUBHOUSE IS YOU FUCK!"

"Well I'm here now, and guess what?!" Meiji punched together his fists. "Now you gotta fight me!"

"But...no!" Gen stepped back. "Mei-chan, I don't...I don't wanna fight you!"

"Why, cuz you know I'll win?"

"NO I-...I-i don't wanna hurt you, what the fuck, why you gotta do this to me?!"

"Do what?!"

"I had fun down here BECAUSE I can let loose!" the bird stomped his foot. "I don't have to worry about playing nice, I can kick everyone's ass, I can be tougher, smarter, more reckless than I usually am!"

"Well why can't you do that with me?!" Meiji shrugged. "I'm not weak, you know that, I'm your handler!"

"I don't wanna hurt you! I don't like you getting hurt!"

"...Gen-chan." Garonba smiled. "You really think you can hurt me?"

The sound of the cage came rumbling down.

"I'm not the brightest dude out there but, I got skills. All of which I been using to keep you in check, like Tagasuki told me to."

"So what, you're checking up on me?" Gen squinted.

"I just wanna have fun, you know, you and me. We're stuck in Yokohama, and it sucks, I get it. You don't think I need some of that?"

The crunch of locking steel echoed through the hall as the octagon fence trapped them in.

"I always thought what I needed was different from you," said Gen, "you always seem so laid-back, like chill about everything."

"Well, yeah," Garonba rubbed his horn, "I got it going on pretty good, I got my forge, I got customers....I'm technically part of Jinuchu but not many folks seem to know, they didn't even ask me about it when I came in."

"Wait, seriously?!"

"I guess my reputation makin' swords is a lot more famous than being yakuza. But that's the thing, Gen-chan."

He pulled off his hoodie over his head.

"I got my own needs too-uhh...w-wait, hold up shit, sorry."

The hoodie stuck on his horn as Gen rolled his eye.

"Sorry, hold up, fuck, the thing's caught on-"

"Yeah you gotta pull the hood down," Ganbe sighed, "want some help?"

"Yeah couldya?" Meiji muttered in his coat. "Sorry just-ow, shit that's not-"

"Fuck's sake hold on."

The bird grabbed his friend's coat, pulling the hood off the horn and yanking the entire thing off Meiji's body. Some of the crowd started laughing in disbelief, before the sight of the beetle's shirt revealed a startling secret.

"Wha...M-meiji, what?" Gen gasped.

"So uh, what was I saying?" Garonba said. "OH, yeah, that's the thing Gen-chan, you see, I got my own needs too."

Smiling from his mandibles, Meiji stood with a large spear on his back, a blunted drill on its end and a steel chain round his shirt. He swung out his weapon and pointed it straight towards his friend, shining in the light as Ganbe flinched.

"The fuck is that?!" he shouted.

"Juuust a little something I cooked," said the beetle proudly, "this place is gonna be perfect for me to try out all my new weapons!"

"Are you serious?! You making me target practice for your fucking swords?!"

"Uhh, NO, it's a naginata! What, you're not scared of me...are you?"

"...nah." Gen smiled at the look in his friend's eyes. "I know you'd never hurt me...right Mei-chan?"

"Right." The beetle smiled back. "And I know you would never hurt me either. But that doesn't mean I can't kick your ass."

Garonba twirled his spear with the grace of a dancer, pounding his foot before he made a giant sweep across the floor between them.

"Think you can beat your handler?!"

"I dunno!" Gen swished out his blades. "You think you can beat ME at my best?!"

"Then show me what you got, Gen-chan! Don't let me down, I wanna see how strong you've gotten, as your friend, as your buddy!"

"BATTLE, THREE, ACTION!"

"LET'S DO THIS BROOOOO!"

The beetle drew back his spear and came swinging down for Ganbe's head, surprising his friend who dodged under the staff and backed up against the wall. Meiji spun his body fast to catch Gen with the spear's giant drill, clipping the bird's shoulder and dragging him hard by the hooked blunt tip, that caught his jacket and threw him to the ground.

Garonba loosened the chain attached to the staff's base, the spear-head collapsing against to form a club as he drew his weapon high to come down with a slam. Gen rolled out its path before rushing up to his friend's side to shove him against the wall. Meiji shoved back with his spear, blocking Ganbe's hands and spinning the staff before a mighty swipe came for the bird's head.

When Ganbe tried to jump back, Garonba pulled the chain to snap the spear-head forwards then thrust straight for the bird's stomach. Punching hard with the blunt tip before reverting the spear to club, he whacked Gen's head to send him down, then with a running start flipped the staff round to drag the tip behind him. Ganbe quickly stood up, but failed to dodge the mighty upward swing.

He bounced on the canvas and tried to roll from momentum, staggering back on his feet as he watched Meiji twirl his staff. Swapping between his hands, the beetle stepped closer to push Gen back against the wall before he swung low then high, forcing the bird to jump and duck from the carving swoop of the metal head.

The fence shivered from the dragging tear of the spear-tip along it, Meiji pulling back to spin the lance around his body, dancing with splendour much to Ganbe's shock. He watched his friend cartwheel with the spear twirling underneath like a fan, before the beetle suddenly hurled it like a harpoon straight for his head.

"F-FUCK!"

Ganbe dodged as the fence rattled with a shudder, the audience crying out in adoration of the newcomer who charged for his weapon. Gen tackled him fast with a shoulder-charge and slammed him on the ground to lay on top of him.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" the bird shouted. "You trying to spear me like a goddamn fish?!"

"IT'S FINE, THE SPEAR'S BLUNT!"

"SO'S YOUR DAMN SKULL, YOU BONEHEADED DIPSHIT!"

"HHHEEHEEHAHA, COME ON GEN-CHAN, YOU LOVE TO FIGHT!"

"I DO, AND NOW I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!"

Meiji gave a wide grin with an open shrug, Ganbe trying to shake off his worries and see his friend as just another opponent. His heart ached briefly, but the smile on that beetle's face helped reassure him. It was also a moment of weakness that Garonba exploited, grabbing Gen's beak before kicking the bird's legs up high in a judo toss over his head.

Ganbe squawked as he landed on his back, rolling on his feet to see Garonba grab his spear from the fence. Hearing the bird charge him from behind, Meiji thrust the staff behind him as Gen ducked underneath, swinging his sickle round Meiji's neck to wrangle him in a sudden throw over his shoulder.

The beetle planted his lance on the floor to stop his fall, recoiling to headbutt the bird with his horn and bootkick his stomach to knock him back. He thrust with his halberd as Gen stumbled out of reach, the punk in the leather jacket swinging out his scythes that Garonba blocked with his spear.

One after the other, Gen found his sickles being struck back like baseballs from a bat, the beetle swinging his naginata left and right until Ganbe shot out his scythe like a whip for his friend's chest. Meiji stood fast, pulling back his spear to suddenly thrust its tip towards the sickle.

"SHINKAAAAI!"

"Wha-SH-SHIT!"

The sudden recoil of his own blade startled him, hearing it zip past his shoulder when it bounced back from the savage thrust. The sickle flew with such force that it ripped the other sickle from his hand and buried itself in the fence behind him. He ran to grab his weapon, but Meiji lunged for his foot and tripped him up before hooking Gen's jacket.

"EYYY lookit that, I got me a fish!"

"I AIN'T NO FISH, BEETLE-BOY!"

"Ohohhh you're a mouthy one too! Come on li'l fishy, I'll eat you up in bed!"

"D-DUDE, no don't make it weird, you're making it weird!"

"Whussat? You wanna play rough?!"

Hoisting Ganbe back towards him, Garonba spun him round as they met face to face.

"I know you like it rough Gen-kun."

"Okay THAT'S IT!"

The bird suddenly headbutted him with a stinging throb that made the beetle stagger, before the bird clapped his hands on both sides of Meiji's face to stun him.

"You wanna fuck around, you're gonna FIND OUT!"

"Nnngh, yeah," Meiji shook his head, "we're gonna find out alright, find out who's the BETTER ASS-KICKER!"

With an upwards swipe, he collapsed the spear-tip to club and knocked Gen's beak with the lance before swinging low to trip him up. A downwards strike narrowly missed when Ganbe rolled and leapt towards his scythes still tangled in the fence. Managing to free them just in time, the bird felt a pair of buzzing wings from behind before Meiji came flying, and slammed both his feet sideways into the wall.

Gen stumbled back watching his friend flap higher, his insect wings flapping in brief spurts and clutching the fence with bare feet before stabbing downwards at the bird. Ganbe rushed to come underneath him, swiping with his scythe to wrap round one of Meiji's legs and pulling him down hard to meet Gen's incoming fist.

The crunch of his knuckles came with a rousing cheer, the crowd pumping their feet in excitement as Garonba staggered onto his side trying to prop himself with the spear. He smiled with a gleam in his eye, charging low for his friend before flapping his wings to make a rising sweep of his naginata, spinning his entire body in a vertical typhoon.

Ganbe tried to pull away but the force of Meiji's attack sucked him in with a brief vacuum, catching his jacket and ripping it off his body before a deep blunted scar dragged across his bronze belly. Catching the spikes to pull the bird high, Meiji stopped his cyclone to land on his feet and swung his staff like a flagpole to hit the bird's back, striking him across the arena.

"TOUCHDOOOOW-wait shit that ain't right, uhhh BASE!"

Gen landed with a thump, rolling across the floor as he stumbled back against the fence. His jacket was hanging off of Meiji's spear, the beetle kindly folding it up to hang on the fence his side of the ring before making his assault. The bird now half-naked flexed his green limbs with a growing grin, showing off to the crowd who whooped it up as Meiji blushed at the sight.

"What, you like the show?!" said Ganbe crunching his legs. "Ya like seeing me all hot an' sweaty?!"

"Uhhh, I-i thought you didn't wanna make it weird!"

"Oh NOW you don't want it weird?! Well TOO BAD!"

Lunging towards him with a cackling sprint, Gen swung out his sickle to make Meiji block, the beetle leaping onto the fence before the bird scrabbled up to meet him. Trapped at close-range, Garonba was forced to block with his staff against the whirling sickle-blade before he socked his friend in the jaw, and quickly shoved the pole between Gen's legs to throw him off the fence.

Hopping across the wall, Meiji skipped through the air with the brief flapping of his insect wings, chasing after Ganbe who ran with the spear jabbing and thrusting at his heels. Rushing to the other side, Ganbe climbed fast on the wall with his sickles and immediately jumped off to meet his friend with a spinning kick

Garonba fell from the air, crumpling hard to the floor as he bent the staff underneath to try and right himself. A terrible crack made him panic as the audience gasped, the shaft buckling under his weight before it snapped.

"HAH, what now Mei-chan?!" Gen taunted with a little shuffle. "Your big dick's all bent outta shape, what you gonna come at me with your fists?!"

"...yeah." Meiji grinned darkly. "You wanna get up close, Gen-chan? You want me to get on top, like you always want it?"

"Heh...sure." Ganbe shrugged with a smile. "But this ain't our room, you gotta work hard to get me under you."

"Oh yeah?" The beetle grabbed the blunt drill-head. "How hard you want it?"

He snapped off the steel from the shaft, tossing the pole aside before he grabbed the bottom of the drill and cracked it in half like an egg. The crowd was screaming as Ganbe's eye widened, Garonba armed and dangerous with a pair of drill-shaped hands fashioned from an old steel briefcase, his fingers grappling inside as he charged with a burst of his wings.

"I'M STILL YOUR HANDLER GEN-CHAN, AND I'M ABOUT TO HANDLER YOU, YOUR AAAAAAASS!"

Blocking fast, the bird clashed with his sickles against the drill-hands before Meiji started boxing, a hard jab to the face followed by a haymaker that Gen ducked underneath. Smacking the flat of the sickle on the beetle's face, Ganbe swerved to behind him and punched the back of his skull, before Meiji slammed his elbow in the bird's stomach and wrapped an arm round his neck.

Trapping Gen in a headlock, Garonba started punching his friend who snarled and yelled before swinging his scythe up high to wrap round Meiji's horn, pulling hard to slam his face straight in the floor. Rolling out from the beetle's grip, the one-eyed punk waited for Meiji to stand back up before forming a figure-of-eight from his sickles.

"I'm just gonna do THIS, and if you get hit, it's ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"OH YEAH, well I'm gonna do this!" Meiji swung his arms like a windmill. "And if YOU get hit, it's all your fault too!"

The audience was briefly confused by this part, watching two males come closer swinging their hands like demented toddlers until Meiji suddenly punched through Gen's whirling blades with deadly precision. Gen was shocked as he stumbled back, before a second driving punch cracked his beak from the steel-drill hand.

Falling onto his back, the bird watched his friend loom above with both hands clasped together to form a single drill, Meiji making a whirring sound with his mouth as he did a few twists to mimic its spin. Stabbing downwards, he punched him once in the shoulder before the bird swung out his scythe and hooked his wrist to pull the drill apart once more.

The beetle staggered enough for Gen to kick with both feet, throwing Meiji back who suddenly backflipped sharp and spun on one of his drill-hands to right himself. Waiting for Gen to stand up, they met once again in a hard clash as Ganbe struck his scythes against the drills, snarling with their breaths fuming against each other's mouths.

"Getting tired yet?!" snapped Gen.

"Nah," snorted Meiji, "I can go all night."

"Heh, I know you can, you sexy bastard."

"Remember Gen...don't get too tired, you still gotta come HOME!"

Pulling back his head Meiji braced himself for a headbutt, as Gen slapped away the drills to cross his blades against the horn. Locked together in combat, the bird slammed his knee twice into Meiji's stomach to try and force him to yield, but Garonba surprised him with a sudden spark shimmering from his horn.

"W-wait, WAIT, DUDE NO-"

"SHIN_KAAAAAAAAI!_"

A spark of lightning came shooting from his horn through Gen's sickles, shocking the bird and throwing him against the wall with a sizzling scorch through his fingers. Garonba clutched his head all of a sudden, small bolts of yellow crackling around his horn before it fizzed out entirely.

"Owwww-uhh!"

"F-fuck, GUH!" Gen shook his head clear. "The fuck'd you do bro, you know your lightning horn's shit!"

"I-i forgot! Nnngh my brain muscles."

"You even HAVE those?! Come on, stop pissing around and GIMME ALL YOU GOT!"

"Oh yeah?!" Meiji rubbed his cheeks. "All I got huh?! You remember my OTHER trick then?!"

"Uhhh...fuck!"

With a sudden heave Meiji puffed up his throat, a burning shudder come trembling through his thorax as Gen started to run. Garonba shot out a burning-hot orb from his mandibles opened wide, the size of a baseball and full of natural-formed napalm that scorched into the fence.

Ganbe kept running a circle round his friend, Meiji trying to shoot out in front with blasting balls of fire that the bird either dodged, or struck back with his scythes to send them rolling across the floor. The beetle only stopped when Gen was lucky enough to whip one back at his face, dashing across his horn to make him panic and pat the charr from his eyes.

The bird came running straight for Garonba, who tried to do a spinning lariat as Gen made a sliding tackle to knock him down on one knee, before spinkicking hard to the back of the beetle's head. Meiji stopped on one foot from the heavy spin, facing Ganbe to suddenly barrage him with metal fists, a violent flurry of drills that the bird desperately blocked with one in every three hits getting through to bash his face.

Both of them were building bruises all over their fronts, the bird countering with a backhand slash across Meiji's head that doubled back twice before smashing the flat of the blade down on the beetle's arm. Before Garonba could punch back, Ganbe swung his sickle-chain round the back of Meiji's neck and pulled his head down to meet his savage knee.

Blood spittled down Meiji's mandibles as he went flying back to hit the fence. When the bird charged for a wild haymaker, the beetle clamped both hands together in a drilling thrust that pierced Gen's chest, a hard choking scream escaping him with a heavy bruise to the chest.

"N-NO! I...AM NOT GONNA LOSE!"

"Y-you gotta know...when to quit," gasped Meiji.

"I...never knew when to QUIT!"

He grabbed Meiji's horn with one hand and punched the beetle twice in the face, knocking him back as before spinning his sickles like a propeller blade and zigzagging towards the beetle. When Meiji tried to juke him one way to escape the sickle storm, Gen caught him on the backstep and hooked the back of his knee to trip him onto his back.

The bird slammed down on top with both his knees, raising his fist high with a mighty roar that crunched between Meiji's eyes. Garonba coughed with a battered grin, trying to raise his fist before Gen slapped it away and pinned down his arms.

"How...h-how was that...Mei-chan?"

Gen loomed over him as they panted on each other's cheeks.

"You think...you still gonna, handler my ass?"

"Khhhehh...hhheh...damn bro." Meiji patted his shoulder. "You really are...the best friend I ever known. But now you're the strongest too."

The beetle raised his arms in defeat and slumped back on the floor. The audience erupted with ovation, jumping off their seats as the entire floor shook with their praise.

"AND THE WINNER IS, GEEEEEN, GANBEEEEEE! WHAT A SPECTACULAR FIGHT FOR THE INCREDIBLE WEAPONS MASTER MEIJI GARONBA, PROVING HIMSELF WITH TWO OUT OF THREE TO PUT HIM UP IN THE ROOKIE LEAGUES!"

"Wait...I'm still in the leagues?" Meiji blinked.

"Hell yeah dude," the bird grinned still on top of him, "you did good enough to get in, now you can fight me all you want!"

"Aww...damn." The beetle sighed laying back. "My wish came true."

"Wait, what wish?"

"You remember those cranes I was making in my forge, if you make a thousand of them you get to make a wish?"

"Yeah?"

"I...I sorta wished that...I could make you stay happy and safe, and that I'd be there to kick everyone's ass for you. Not that I think you need it but cuz you know, kicking ass is always fun when you...got your buddy."

"...Mei-chan." The bird leaned in close. "If there wasn't like six-hundred creatures staring at us, I would fuck your ass so hard into next week."

"Heh...really?" Meiji blushed gripping Gen's head. "What's stopping ya?"

"The fact that I'm pretty sure we'd get kicked out."

"Mmmm well...what if I did this?"

He pressed his mouth to Ganbe's beak, suddenly kissing him with a deep loving suckle that shocked the audience with a feedback screech from Glastner dropping her mic. But then someone whooped, then another, and another before the whole room would join in cheer.

Sally had no words, simply shrugging to Konnor and Goro who stood watching from the wings. A smile passed their lips, they gave a thumbs up to each other, and went back to their separate rooms.